House Hack with a loan that doesn't require 15% down?

Question

I currently own a home in Philadelphia. I had to move suddenly for a job and have been renting out that property in Philly. I am now moving again and was thinking of house hacking in the new location. However, because the first property was financed through an FHA loan, I can't use FHA as an option for financing my next property and one lender told me that any other conventional loan with a low down payment (1-3%) would not work when purchasing a multi-family property. Does anyone have any suggestions about loan options that would get me out of the range of 15-20% down?

Joseph Lynch III · Answer

Awesome! Thanks Jared.

Jared Bouzek · Answer

@Joseph Lynch III If you purchased the property FHA, relocated to another state, and then are relocating back you might be able to get an exception to the 100-mile FHA rule. I would have your loan officer run it past an underwriter.

Joseph Lynch III · Answer

Yeah Andrew, the original FHA loan is still very young (20 months) so I was looking into refinancing but it doesn't seem like a worthwhile option just yet, unfortunately.

Andrew B. · Answer

in addition to the above, you can also refinance out of the old FHA loan. however, if you used FHA to begin with you may not have the required 20-25% equity and may require cash to get out.

Joseph Lynch III · Answer

The only problem with the other FHA might be distance. The new job is only 80 miles from my original property. I will definitely follow up with other lenders though.

Jared Bouzek · Answer

@Joseph Lynch III You're not going to find a Conventional option lower than 15% down at this point. I would question your loan officer again about FHA or find another loan officer who understands that you can have more than one FHA loan if you're moving due to a job relocation.